The following terms are defined for the purposes of this chapter.
(a) “Area of special flood hazard” means the land in the floodplain within the City subject to a one percent (1%) or greater chance of flooding in any given year.
(b) “Base flood” means the flood having a one percent (1%) chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. The base flood may also be referred to as the one-hundred (100) year flood.
(c) “Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)” means the agency with the overall responsibility for administering the National Flood Insurance Program.
(d) “Flood” or “flooding” means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:
(1) The overflow of inland or tidal waters, and/or
(2) The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
(e) “Flood Insurance Study” means the official report in which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided flood profiles, floodway boundaries, and the water surface elevations of the base flood.
(f) “Floodplain” means any land susceptible to being inundated by water from the base flood.
(g) “Floodway” means the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the normal water surface elevation more than five-tenths feet.
(h) “Mature woodlands” means an area or stand of trees whose total combined canopy covers an area of one acre or more and at least fifty percent (50%) of which is composed of canopies of trees having a diameter at breast height (DBH) of at least ten inches, or any stand of ten or more individual trees having a DBH of at least twelve inches whose combined canopies cover at least fifty percent (50%) of the area encompassed by the stand.
(i) “Natural vegetation” means any plant material and trees which are indigenous to the area and exist on a site prior to any vegetation destruction, construction, earth moving or earth disturbing activity.
(j) “Slope” means an inclined ground surface. The inclination is expressed as a ratio of the horizontal distance to the vertical distance.
(k) “Stream” means any portion of the Chagrin River, East Branch of the Chagrin River, Gully Brook, or Ward’s Creek.
(l) “Stream bank” or “river bank” means the average annual high water mark of the stream or river, otherwise known as the bankfull stage of the stream or river channel. Indicators used in determining the bankfull stage may include changes in vegetation, slope or bank materials, evidence of scouring, and stain lines.
(m) “Unstable soil” means a portion of land surface, subsurface or area which is prone to land slippage or erosion.
(n) “Young woodlands” means a stand of ten or more trees that do not meet the DBH or canopy requirements for a mature woodland.
(Ord. 1997-117. Passed 9-16-97.)